Today: Scientific Expert Evidence: The use of court appointed referees and experts appointed to assist the court

11/02/2025

In person - Tuesday, 11 February (5pm-6pm)

In civil proceedings, judges often face the extremely difficult task of choosing between competing scientific expert evidence. The notion of a non-expert adjudicating upon conflicting scientific expert evidence is inherently problematic, but it is a feature of civil litigation in many common law jurisdictions.

The law has long provided two means of dealing with this problem: the use of court appointed referees, and of experts appointed to assist the court. Surprisingly, those means are not commonly employed, although throughout Australia there is a growing judicial inclination to exercise the power to appoint a referee. This presentation examines those means.

Michael Christie SC of 6 Selborne Wentworth Chambers will be speaking on this topic, with a commentary by the Hon Justice Michael Lee of the Federal Court of Australia. The event will be moderated by Ben Kremer SC of Banco Chambers.

CPD Category: Substantive Law, Practice and Procedure, and Evidence

Please note: Only NSW barristers or members of the NSW Bar Association can register for CPDs or webinars.

To register for this CPD, please click here. This CPD will be run by registration only. Numbers are limited.

Please provide any written questions in advance to cpd@nswbar.asn.au.

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